Hate Lives but Love Conquerors
by halstead
Summary: AU Arrested for the Murder of Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter was sure that his friends would help him. Instead they left him one by one apart from a few who resist but they will suffer. Now Harry's in Azkaban and help is coming. But will it be too late?
1. A Black Day

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Summary: AU Accused of the death of Cedric and arrested by the Ministry, Harry Potter was sure that his friends would come through for him. They turned there back on him one by one apart from a few whom stand tall but they will pay the price. Now Harry is in Azkaban after a sham trial and all alone. He is going crazy slowly but help is on the way. The believer is coming. But will it be in time?

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Hey everybody, this idea just hit me and I had to write. I've always liked Harry-In-Azkaban fics so I've decided to do my own version. This will be short with fewer than ten chapters and right to the point where possible, expect no romance here, its pain all the way. No need to worry though, YHSR is still my main priority and the writing of it won't suffer much. I know I stated in YHSR that my time is severely strained: it is. It's just this idea wouldn't leave me alone. It was impossible to study with this in my mind so I thought why not write it?

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Thoughts in Italics.

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Hate Lives but Love Conquerors 

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 1: A Black Day

August 3rd 1995

The Wizarding World was in turmoil; there was no other word for it. Yesterday Harry Potter, previous hero and saviour of the Wizarding World, the Boy-Who-Lived himself was found guilty of the murder of his fellow Tri-Wizard Champion Cedric Diggory. His punishment, twenty years in Azkaban wizarding prison. Some people may ask what drove the hero of the wizarding world to fall so spectacularly and become a murderer but the answer is simple: Harry Potter is a victim of hate, he is as innocent as the next person is.

It all started at the Third Task of the Tri-wizard Tournament, a tournament that was being held for the first time in a thousand years. The Tournament was a competition between the three main wizarding schools of Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrong. Each school was suppose to have one champion with the three competing against each other for the prize of 1000 galleons. Harry though had the unfortunate luck of being the forth champion through unforeseen circumstances that yet to have been discovered apart from Voldemort telling Harry that one of his "servants" had seen to it.

Anyway the terror began when Harry and Cedric suddenly disappear from Hogwarts grounds when they both touch the trophy that wasn't meant to be a Portkey. Then as Voldemort ordered Cedric to be killed, Harry was captured, tied up and forced to watch and aid in the re-birth of Voldemort. Voldemort then untied Harry and thought that he would have a bit of fun by duelling Harry. Due to sheer luck Harry was able to grab Cedric's body and summon the trophy enabling the pair to get back to Hogwarts.

This was when the problems began for Harry if he didn't have enough already. People automatically saw him holding Cedric's body and assumed the worst. Harry had withdrawn into himself to try and cope with what he had just seen and kept repeating "he's back" over and over again as though it was a mantra. Even Dumbledore and his friends couldn't get sense out of him and this is where suspicions rose again. Things went from bad to worse when Fudge attempted to interview him. All he got was the same "he's back" and this drove Fudge over the edge. Desperate to dispel any possibility of Voldemort being back Fudge had no hesitation to arrest Harry for the murder of Cedric Diggory in an attempt to finally put the Boy-Who-Lived out of the picture and out of Fudges way. Add to the fact that the body of ex-Auror Alastor Moody was found in his office and Hogwarts was a very busy place and no one apart from Remus Lupin saw Fudge take off with Harry until it was too late. For his troubles Remus got cursed so bad he was in bed for a week. 

The Wizarding World was shocked at what happened and many were in protest including Harry's friends. Fudge refused any requests to see him and Dumbledore who managed to see Harry once described him as close to catatonic. No one at Hogwarts believed at the time that Harry was guilty and thought that when the trial came, Harry would be released straight away.

Then the trial came and it was the biggest insult to justice the Wizarding World had ever seen. Seeing Harry's state and the current frame of mind he was in, Fudge took full advantage. Harry's guilt had been plastered over the Daily Prophet since his arrest and his mental state of mind had convinced people that he was guilty. Many still believed in his innocence though. As the trial went on, those people got less and less until only a handful still believed in the Boy-Who-Lived.

Fudge knew he had only one chance at doing this right and influenced heavily by Lucius Malfoy and other influential people, who mostly happened to be Death Eaters, Harry never had a chance. Firstly Harry was force fed the strongest sedative potion available which made sure that he was unable to talk throughout the whole proceedings making him look very guilty when he seemingly refused to answer the questions that the Minister asked. Harry had in fact managed to weakly protest his innocence. This shocked Fudge, as Harry shouldn't have been coherent let alone able to speak. This just made him happier that he was finally getting the boy out of the way.

Next Fudge had managed to persuade his Aunt and Uncle to speak about how bad he was and how he blew his own Aunt up in a fit of rage and how he idolised his Godfather Sirius Black who was on the run from the law. Character witnesses from his school told about how he was very angry and his Parslemouth abilities were brought to the forefront, Harry was well and truly on his way to going down but doubts still remained.

Then finally the last piece of evidence against Harry was revealed and it well and truly dug the nail into his coffin. His wand was examined and using Prior Incantato it was found to the absolute shock of the audience that the last spell performed by Harry was a successful Killing Curse. This was even verified true by a Ministry "expert" and it was explained that since Harry had been arrested the wand had been kept safe. What Fudge knew however though was that he had managed to get hold of the wand for a couple of minutes and killing a rat with Harry's wand firmly putting the blame on Harry.

The last announcement rocked most of the crowd and as Harry looked around he remembered seeing his Ron and Hermiones faces and the anger, hate and betrayal that they had shown in his direction. Dumbledore looked ten years older in that one moment. Mrs. Weasley was sobbing. The reaction that Harry had been surprised by was Remus Lupin. When their eyes met the sorrow that came from Remus's eyes spoke a thousand words, he knew that Harry was being framed and was powerless to stop it. Harry was found guilty by an eleven to one verdict, Dumbledore still not convinced had voted against but had well and truly been beaten.

Before they passed sentence, Fudge allowed Harry to speak with his friends one last time and say his goodbyes to them. What Harry had not expected was the cold glares of Ron and Hermione. The Twins gave him a commiserating smile and shouted to him and everyone that he was innocent. This drew glares from 95% of the audience but the Twins looked like they didn't give a damn. Mrs. Weasley sobbed and blamed herself and the Dursley's for neglecting him. Lupin looked heart broken but resolved, Harry had noted wondering what that meant. Dumbledore just looked disappointed and it seemed that he believed in Harry's guilt despite his vote. Everyone else just looked angry with him and this made Harry full of rage or as much as one could have possible felt with the sedative in his system.

When the sentencing came Fudge pulled a political masterstroke and said that due to the hardship that Harry had sufferer and due to his unstable state of mind, although he was guilty he was being sentenced to "only" twenty years in Azkaban. Harry had known that Fudge knew damn well that Harry wouldn't last a year with the Dementors and was doing this to soften any backlash not that here would be much after his display of power. Then as he was about to snap Harry's wand the unexpected happened. Sirius Black who the whole wizarding world except a few thought to be a mass murder and the head Death Eater suddenly appeared out from under a invisibility cloak that Harry had recognised as his own and summoned Harry's wand to him with a flick of the wrist. The Aurors had their wands drawn in a flash but it was not quick enough. With a "Hold in there Harry, I'll come" and a parting shot of "You'll Pay" to Fudge, Sirius Black portkeyed out of the courtroom that was now full of pandemonium and back to the Shrieking Shack where he started to set up his plans for rescuing Harry.

The trial went downhill from there with Fudge nearly having a heart attack. Harry was shipped off to Azkaban immeadiatly due to the fear of Black bringing more Death Eaters back to break out what many now thought to be a Death Eater or at very least a follower of his Godfather.

The rest of the world was stunned at how the mighty can fall and yet another chapter was added to the life of the now Boy-Who-Lived-Only-To-Murder.

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September 2nd 1995

It had been a month since Harry Potter had been found guilty of murder yet Sirius Black was still in the worst mood imaginable and would only talk about his Godson. This meant that very few people had talked to him, as all the staff now believed Harry to be guilty though doubt lingered in some. Remus came to see him every day and surprisingly Fred and George Weasley came up to Remus after the trial saying that they didn't care what their family said, Harry was innocent and they would do all that they could to help. Sirius had noticed that Ron and Hermione were very quiet when he met with them and he believed this to be there way of grieving when really he couldn't have been further from the truth.

Now here it was 9:00 in the evening and Remus and Sirius were waiting for Fred, George and Ron Weasley who had wanted to be included on this meeting of helping Harry escape. They had a small meeting last night but as it was first night Fred and George didn't have much time and they agreed to meet tonight. Apparently Ron had found out and wanted to be involved. Sirius found no problem with this, as this was Harry's best friend that they were talking about.

Suddenly Sirius heard noises down the passageway and with a quick check of the Marauders Map that Sirius had borrowed from Harry's trunk, he saw that it was indeed the Twins and Ron accompanied them.

Sirius welcomed the trio in and offered them seats at the table where Remus was already seated looking over plans of Azkaban that he had managed to acquire. Sirius looked at Ron who bore a look that Sirius had sure he had seen before and got a funny feeling about it but he shrugged it off very quickly. He then commenced the meeting as he took his seat emotions cascading around in his head.

"We can't wait much longer, I have to go in and get him soon." Sirius said bluntly not wasting time with meaningless chat.

"I know Padfoot but we still have not got a solid plan yet. I have looked over the plans a million times and it is what is built for and meant to be an inescapable fortress. The wards are unbreakable even with both of us working together. The best we could do is temporarily bring them down for seconds but not without notice plus we would be drained." Remus commented a grimace on his face as he relayed the bad news back to the group.

"When are we going then?" George commented

"We need to get Harry out" Fred continued from his brother.

"He needs us." George continued

"What can we do?" Fred finished off, the twins speaking in tandem voicing their questions.

The twins were here as loved Harry like a brother. It wasn't just that. They hadn't told anyone but Harry was given the 1000 galleon prize money in Dumbledore's office and upon seeing the twins had forcibly given it to them barely saying a sentence before retreating back into his shell. They knew that Harry was not capable of murder and would go the length of the Earth to protect him.

"You're not coming to Azkaban." Sirius said bluntly. Seeing the outraged look on the twins' faces he continued. "You can't cast a Patronus and that is the only way to repel a Dementor. Also I'm not letting any of you get hurt. Harry would never forgive himself if you get hurt or killed attempting to rescue him, I'm sorry but I have to do this alone." Sirius told the twins a sad look crossing his face.

"OK but anything you need." George said

"Just ask and we will give it" Fred continued  


"Any items that we can get hold of." George followed on

"Just get Harry out of there." Fred finished with both twins sporting solemn looks.

"Padfoot, don't you mean "we" are going to get Harry." Remus said to his friend gently but with a steel edge to the words.

"Remus I won't let you…" Sirius began but Remus interjected.

"No Padfoot, I'm coming and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Plus my Patronus is better than yours and it will take two of us to do all the things we have to do." Remus sternly told his friend in a voice that Sirius couldn't argue with and he nodded his head in acceptance.

For the next hour the five of them brainstormed and talked about breaking Harry out slowly coming up with a plan that might work. Only four people were contributing though, Ron had not spoke a word the whole time despite searching looks from all of the other four present. He just returned their stares with glares. Sirius was feeling more ill at ease as the time went on and as a break in conversation arose Sirius saw this was the time to talk to the others.

"Ron could you go upstairs and bring my trunk down please." Sirius asked in a kind tone.

Ron looked mystified and a bit suspicious but silently got out of his chair and made his way upstairs. Wasting no time Sirius created a silencing bubble with a swish of his wand.

"There's something wrong with Ron. I don't know what but I am not getting a good feeling." Sirius started and seeing nods of agreement from the rest he continued. "I think we should finish the meeting and re-convene tomorrow. Fred and George can have the map and make sure Ron doesn't know." Sirius finished and hearing steps on the stairs he quickly cancelled the silencing bubble with a wave of his hand.

It was the look on Ron's face as he walked down the stairs that set alarm bells in Sirius's head and unfortunately he wasn't disappointed when Ron began to speak in a slow tone that dripped with hatred and for the first time Sirius saw how he had changed.

"I'm sorry Fred, George but it had to be done. I can't let you get dragged into this and I won't let them do it. Harry deserves every minute of that place, can't you see that. That murderer has probably put you under Imperious anyway. It was my duty, you will thank me in the long run. Now just surrender and you won't get hurt." Ron told his brothers who had drawn their wands and had them steadfastly pointed at their brother while Remus followed the same pattern. Sirius was fuming and screamed "Traitor" at him. He was ready to curse Ron into the next millennium when:

"Arrrrrrgggghhhh" Sirius shouted falling to his knees. "Fred, George you have to go…Aurors…Wards collapsing…Remus…get them out…can't hold on…" Sirius panted out heavily with the strain of the wards surrounding the shack being magically brought down by what felt like twenty Aurors.

Sirius with no other option cut the wards and raising to his feet wand drawn saw that Fred and George had stunned and bound Ron but weren't leaving. Remus shouted for them to go back to Hogwarts when the door came open in a splintering of wood and the first Auror rolled in wand drawn.

"Subsisto" Sirius cried and watched as the Auror was struck with the curse no time to put a shield up. "Go" Sirius bellowed at the twins as Aurors started piling in to the shack wands at the ready.

The first three Aurors in started bellowing stunning spells but Sirius blocked them all and returned three curses of his own in quick succession while Moony sent two. These knocked two more Aurors out but four came in to take their place.

Then there was a quiet splintering crack upstairs that no one else heard. With a last look at his friend, Remus dodged a powerful blasting curse and made his way upstairs ready to fight.

Sirius stood to fight the Aurors wondering what he could do and saw Fred and George Weasley stood behind wands out, grim determination plastered on their faces as they prepared to defend Sirius in the name of Harry who would have done the same in a heartbeat.

More Aurors piled in and the noises resounding from upstairs as well as the flash of lights indicated that battle had already begun up there. Sirius thought for a moment and decided that he had nothing to lose, he was already a dead man walking. With one last puzzled thought about why the Aurors hadn't used the killing curse Sirius sprung into action wand waving rapidly.

"Transfero, Transfero, Moltus Exturno". Sirius spoke in rapid succession with wand movement and words blurred into one motion. He quickly raised a shield and rolled to the left to avoid the curses and watched how his Ring of Fire had taken down another Auror while the two chairs he had transfigured into Lions had distracted three Aurors. Never been one for the defensive Sirius rose up and shouted in a deadly voice

"Blasot" The blasting curse missed the Auror it was targeted for but struck the wall, which promptly crumbled exposing the outside world. This distracted an Auror and Sirius saw the man fall to a stunner from one of the twins who Sirius briefly saw as he dodged one and blocked another strong paralysis curse fighting side by side using the limited curses that they knew well.

The duelling was fast and intense and Sirius soon found it more of an effort to dodge and block the curses as his magic was taking a hammering using so much magic but the thought of his Godson suffering drove him on. Sirius had been slowly forced backwards by the remaining eight Aurors that remained downstairs with Fred and George also being pushed back into a corner. Sirius had noted that Fred and George were suffering and wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. It was lucky for the twins that the Aurors couldn't hurt them and only sent disabling curses at the pair unlike the variety of damaging curses sent Sirius way. As Sirius fell further into the house hastily diving to avoid a bone-breaking curse he prayed that Remus was faring better than he was.

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Remus hurried upstairs after hearing the windows cave in and the sound of footsteps and voices that his werewolf enhanced hearing managed to pick up. Not bothering to reason with the Aurors, Remus ran the rest of the staircase diving on to the wooden floorboards of the upstairs room and wildly waving his wand shouted.

"Blasot, Reducto"

The two curses flew towards the Aurors who hadn't been prepared for such a sudden attack thinking their entrance had came unnoticed and as a result the blasting curse knocked two Aurors straight out of the equation. The other Aurors managed to dodge the Reductor curse that combined with the two shattered windows had taken out most of the wall.

"Seco" An Auror bellowed the slashing curse while the three others cast curses that Remus couldn't make out as raising a shield to block the first curse he spun to the left effectively getting him out of the way of the oncoming curses.

Pointing his wand to the ceiling above where two Aurors stood Remus yelled "Destructio". He watched as the ceiling caved in on the two Aurors giving Remus more breathing time but not much as he rapidly hit the deck to avoid an oncoming curse then had to raise his strongest shield to stop a curse from hitting him where he lay.

Rising to his feet Remus whipped his wand quickly and shouted "Banisho" and was rewarded when it hit it's mark and sent the Auror flying off the upper story of the building, out through the space where a wall once stood.

After that though Remus had no luck and was constantly on the defensive unable to get in any attacks of his own doing all he could to avoid being cursed. It only got worse when the two Aurors who had the ceiling collapse on them rose again and rejoined the fight more determined than ever. Even though he didn't want to acknowledge it, the only thing keeping Remus out of harms way was his werewolf-enhanced speed and reflexes. 

"Subsisto Maximus" Remus saw an opening and summoning all his magical reserves poured as much power as he could into the curse, as otherwise it wouldn't be enough. As the powerful group stunner roared its way from Remus's wand he paid for the offensive gesture and was hit by a curse that sent him hurtling twenty feet backwards straight into the wall by the stairs.

He struggled to his knees, werewolf strength or not failing him and by the skin of his teeth avoided a red curse that struck the wall above him and shook the house momentarily.

Remus saw that his strength was failing him and just managed to block another curse. Rolling to the left Remus sent one last curse.

"Stupefy" Remus weakly, cried out in desperation but the auror was quicker.

"Blasot" The auror shouted tiredly the fight affecting him as well.

Both curses hit their mark but unfortunately for Remus he was positioned at the top of the staircase so when the curse hit him, crashing through his hastily brought up shield he was sent flying down the stairs landing in a sickening heap at the bottom.

The last Auror revived his comrade and the pair made their way down the stairs expecting Black to be in the same state, after all there was eight Aurors on one Adult and two children who knew very little about magic.

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Fred and George Weasley had never seen nothing like it in their entire lives. They had heard from their father on numerous occasions that the Ministry was corrupted but this was ridiculous. Just because they believed in the innocence of Harry Potter, Aurors were trying to immobilise them.

Before the duelling had started the twins felt confident in their abilities but watching Sirius Black decimate half of the Aurors downstairs had shown them what duelling really was. Fred and George realised that on their own they would be stunned within ten seconds so they worked together. Even with the pair of them working together, one on the offensive, one doing defence they had only taken out two Aurors in ten minutes and then they were both distracted.

Soon though the twins found themselves pushed further back in the house and thanked God again as the Aurors were only using disabling curses not like some of the ones thrown at Sirius who was literally fighting for his life.

As curse after curse was thrown at them both of them switched to defensive and prayed that they could avoid being hit long enough until Sirius and Remus won or until they got another chance to attack.

Both twins were so similar that when they passed the still stunned and bound form of their brother Ron, that they had the same thought that they would get even one day. The twins had seen the grim look of determination on Ron's face as he told them about his betrayal, as that was all that the twins could call it.

As Fred and George were forced further into the corner, the Aurors duelling with them advancing, they just hoped that Sirius and Remus would escape. The twins weren't scared about being taken back to Hogwarts. They were doing it for Harry and no one on earth could convince them that they were doing the wrong thing.

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Sirius was beginning to feel that he was fighting a hopeless battle. There was still five Aurors on this floor if he included the ones duelling with the tired looking Fred and George who he thought had performed admiringly considering they were seventh years and they were fighting fully trained Aurors.

"Blasot" Sirius cried happy he could get an offensive curse from his wand though his happiness faded when the spell was easily blocked and three more came flying at him. His shield now weakened barely held the first too and throwing himself backward to dodge the third he cursed Ron Weasley mentally for what must have been the hundredth time.

Another three curses were thrown at Sirius before he could retaliate with his own. He barely managed to dodge the first two before his tired shield wavered before absorbing the third curse, a rather painful variation of the bone-breaking curse.

Sirius was about to go on the offensive when he heard a very familiar voice yell and turning his head slightly he saw Remus come flying down the stairs hitting the floor about thirty feet away from where he stood with a sickening crack.

Sirius dived out of the way of an oncoming curse and frantically made his way towards his friend. He momentarily forgot about the Aurors and this proved a costly mistake as he heard three voices soon after he lowered his guard.

"Subsisto"

The powerful stunners made his way towards Sirius who knew that this was it, he thought about Harry and how he had failed him. Raising the strongest shield he could muster Sirius prepared for the inevitable. The curses were four feet away when a bundle of red came flying in front of him. Seconds later Fred Weasley was on the floor unconscious, having taken all three curses for Sirius, as Sirius was Harry's best hope and needed to escape.

The scenes following this were pandemonium. George Weasley had never been as angry in his life. Feeling the heat rising and the magic pumping, he swept his wand in the direction of an Auror who just stepped off the staircase. The magic was rolling off of him and the Aurors shield was broken to shreds as he got thrown back five feet into the wall where he was imbedded into it due to the sheer magic and force George had unleashed. This made George feel weak and the Auror who came down the stairs next stunned George with ease.

The Auror then made his way to Remus and grabbing his body portkeyed the pair to the Ministry where Remus was to be held for "questioning".

Sirius was fuming by now seeing Fred and George Weasley knocked out cold and Remus taken away. The wild magic started accumulating in Sirius who welcomed the feeling as it had been so long since he had used this type of magic. Easily blocking the incoming curses due to the enhanced magic now put into his shield Sirius countered with an expert swiftness.

"Auctorita Vultus" Two balls of pure white magic shot out from Sirius's wand and struck two Aurors before they even realised what hit them. They were sent flying the length of the room landing by the door. His anger growing Sirius pooled his wild magic and lashed out at the anti-apparition wards the Aurors had put up. Seeing that the wards were cracking Sirius pushed more of his magic into them and succeeded in knocking out the wards if only temporarily.

Feeling considerably weaker than he had a minute before, Sirius looked at the prone figures of Fred and George and the two rising Aurors. Sirius wanted to stay and help the twins but his Godson came first. After hearing numerous pops behind him signalling apparition into the room of more Aurors Sirius apparated to the edge of the Forbidden Forest that was the furthest from Hogwarts and just outside the wards as the Marauders had discovered in their seventh year.

Sirius arrived at his destination with a quiet pop and after a quick survey of the surroundings he relaxed for the moment finding no threats. He knew from experience that the Aurors would be tracking his apparition, as he didn't have time to mask it. This made it impractical to go far or close to his destination, the Aurors would obviously track him. He thought of Moony and how he was probably being "interrogated" by the Aurors in the same way that he was all them years ago but he banished the thought from his mind. He would free Moony after harry and exact his revenge then.

Sirius suddenly had a great idea._ "So they want to track me do they?" _he thought viscously _"Well why don't we give them something to track then." _Grabbing a twig off the ground Sirius summoned more magic from his already depleted reserves of magic that had been brought back down to normal level following the burst of wild magic that Sirius had experienced. Muttering Latin feverishly under his breath quickly Sirius quickly created a Portkey to Diagon Alley. Dropping it to the ground it disappeared three seconds later.

Slumping onto a nearby log in exhaustion Sirius knew he had to move quickly. The Aurors would have tracked his signal soon. So with a mammoth effort Sirius pulled himself upright. Then slightly concentrating and with a slight pop to tell of his success, a large black dog set out north with only one thing on his mind, to save his Godson.

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AN

I hope it wasn't that bad. If so tell me and I will withdraw it. This idea is not planned at all, I just have a brief idea in my head. Anything you wish to see in the story tell me and I will try to accommodate it. Remember that this story is short and will be 20,000 words approx.

Cheers

Halstead


	2. Fortunes Linked

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, he belongs to J.K Rowling and if you are reading this and think any different then St. Mungo's should be your next port of call.

Chapter 2: Fortunes Linked

3rd September 1995

It was cold, so permanently cold. Not the kind of coldness that you would put on another jumper to stave off but the kind of cold that chills you right to the core. A cold that is never ending and makes you feel like any happy emotions you ever felt were alien. No, this was not the weather; it was the one of the effects of the Dementors of Azkaban. Foul creatures that when close brought up a person's worst memories, drained people of all happy emotion and made them feel cold to the very being of their existence. Some peoples experiences were worse than others were and as such the Dementors affected them more than others. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, the newest resident to Azkaban's High Security Wing, he suffered from the worst memories out of anyone in the prison.

It had been a month since Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, fallen hero of the Wizarding World had been sent to Azkaban for the murder of Cedric Diggory. A month where he constantly heard the worst memories of his life replayed over and over again in a never-ending loop. 

His Mothers Screams,

Voldemort's Laughing,

A Flash of Green Light,

The Basilisk, 

Cedric Dying,

Voldemort's Re-Birth.

The only break Harry got was from unconsciousness or sleep and that was haunted with nightmares of Muggle killings and the planning's of Lord Voldemort. Being incarcerated in Azkaban had widened his link to Voldemort and had brought about Harry being in Voldemort's mind when he was asleep.

Sitting on the floor of his cell, which ironically was also Sirius's home for twelve years, Harry tried to clear his mind of the dull memories the Dementors brought up. At the moment the Dementors were not so near, so Harry's thoughts were relatively clear though it was becoming harder to stay focused with each day. Not that helped him one bit. His mind was in constant turmoil about his best friends' betrayal. He was sure that the only thing that kept him sane was the thought that Sirius, Remus and the Twins believed in his innocence and for that he would forever be in their debt. He thought about the people that had turned their backs on him and while he was angry, he could understand to an extent but for Ron and Hermione, the looks on their faces were unforgivable.

The thought Harry held onto though, desperately, as if his sanity depended on it that, was the promise that Sirius made to rescue him. He held on to that hope as he knew that he wouldn't last much longer. This place was making him question his self more and more each day and the Voldemort connection when he slept was just driving him insane quicker. His respect of Sirius had rose ten fold. Even though Sirius had told him that his Animagus form helped and the fact that his memories weren't half as bad as Harry's plus Sirius didn't have any Voldemort connection meant that it wasn't the same. But anyone to Harry who managed to keep his or her sanity after twelve years in the same cell with no one to talk to and had the power to escape was a person stronger than Harry could ever be.

Screams echoed throughout Harry's head signalling the return of the Dementors. Curling up into a ball, threadbare clothes giving no protection to the cold and certainly no chocolate on hand to relieve the effects, no wand for the Patronus, all Harry could was repeat the same thought in his head. _"I'm innocent, Sirius is coming, I'm innocent, Sirius is coming." _Curling tighter into the foetal position, Harry tried to block the thoughts in his head to no avail and soon he slipped into the haunted world of unconsciousness not knowing how much longer he could stand.

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Fred and George Weasley were past livid. After being revived at Auror Headquarters, a task that took much more effort in the case of Fred, instead of being apologised too, the pair were treated like common criminals. Aurors trying to get information on the whereabouts of Sirius Black interviewed them together and separately. Not only that but they had been told that they could be prosecuted if they didn't tell the Aurors everything they knew. They had been frisked and searched but the only thing found on their possession was the Marauders Map but no matter what the Aurors did or said the map didn't reveal anything and in the end they gave it back. In all it was a terrible night for the pair who vowed that the first time they saw their brother, no matter where he was, he was going to pay for betraying Harry.

The Twins had tried telling the Aurors that Harry would never do a thing like that and that he had been framed but they were just laughed at and taken back to Hogwarts where they would be keeping an eye on them. Dumbledore had been notified of their being off school grounds and their meeting with Sirius. The twins didn't know what to expect from Dumbledore but not for him to seem happy. He told the twins that no matter what he tried, he couldn't get Harry off, the lies were just too convincing. He also told them that in future if they did anything to not get caught and if anyone asked, they were one step away from being expelled.

This just strengthened the twins resolve for justice and the pair headed back into the common room determined to do anything they could to help Sirius, prove Harry's innocence and to free Lupin. The problem was they didn't know where too start. Luckily as soon as they entered the Gryffindor common room they knew exactly where too start.

The common room went silent at their entrance and the pair started to stride their way over to Ron who had noticed the entrance of the twins and immeadiatly begun to rise to meet his brothers holding his hands where the twins could see them. It didn't matter one bit.

"Repundo" Fred and George both shouted whipping their wands violently watching as the purple beams of light struck Ron before he had a chance to move.

Ron flew backward twenty-foot and slammed into the hard stone wall with a loud bang and fell to the floor. Ron managed to wobble to his feet but not for long.

"Blasot" Fred shouted and watched with satisfaction as Ron flew back into the same wall and fell again, this time unconscious. George had his wand trained on Hermione who immeadiatly rose to Ron's defence. She had her wand out pointing it in the face of Fred who just looked at her calmly.

"Leave him alone. What have you just done? He's your brother. If you don't stop I'm going to get McGonagall." Hermione shouted in what sounded to the twins like a whining annoying voice.

"Well Hermione-" George started.

"-It seems like our little brother here-" Fred continued.

"-Has some explaining to do-"

"-And you can guarantee that we won't leave him alone-"

"-Until we get some answers-" George finished seriously.

Fred picked Ron off the floor and threw him into an armchair before muttering "Enervate".

Ron awoke and gaining his bearings he took one look at the twins before his hand went for his wand and he started to rise from the chair. Unfortunately for Ron, the twins had expected something like his and within ten seconds Ron was wandless and bound to the chair.

At this point a couple of the seven or eight Gryffindors left in the common room looked like they were about to ask what in hell was happening but Fred and George didn't care. They decided that an audience was not required.

"We don't mean to be bothers but this is family business so if you could go to your dorms. Thanks." George said, his voice solemn and this alone shocked most of the Gryffindors in the common room, as they had never heard such a tone from the pranksters supreme.

Most people respected the twins' wishes and started to leave and Lee Jordan who the twins gave a grim smile too pushed out the couple of sixth year boys that looked on the verge of protesting.

Now that everyone had left the common room, the temperature seemed to have dropped by ten degrees and the tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. The twins stood over the bound Ron who had also been silenced so the twins wouldn't have to hear his whinging.

The twins turned to Hermione who was stood with her wand pointing straight at both of them though her hand was shaking ever so slightly.

"Would you too care to tell me what the hell is going on here." Hermione shouted at the pair.

The twins who hearing the volume of her voice decided that they would cast a silencing dome over the room and before Hermione could raise her wand the twins had muttered a long incantation. With a bright yellow flash the dome was in place.

"What the hell going on is this Hermoninny. Our dearest Ronnikins here decided to sell his own brothers out to Aurors. We were then threatened for hours at Ministry Headquarters and were then told that people would be were watching us and our every move." Fred told Hermione who looked shocked.

"Why did he sell you out?" Hermione asked as she had an inkling of what the answer may be and didn't like the way Fred and George were reacting too it one bit. Here face must have betrayed some of what she was feeling as George answered her question for her.

"Hermione, me and Fred here aren't stupid. We know that you knew Ron was going to tag along to our meeting with Sirius and Remus. You knew that we were discussing Harry. So don't play dumb with us." George bellowed at Hermione who was starting to get angry. The pair were right in their assumption that Ron was too stupid to have done this all by himself though.

"You want to know why we tipped off the Aurors, it was because it couldn't happen. You have to accept that. There was no chance that we could let you two, Sirius and Remus attempt to rescue Harry. All he is, is a murderer that deserves to rot in Azkaban. I'm glad that it all got stopped and I would do it again. Now let Ron go!" Hermione shouted wand twitching in her hand as she was prepared to use force if necessary but one look from Fred and George made her back down.

Hermione was by now on the edge of hysterics seeing the predicament Ron was in. He was fighting his bonds to no avail. The twins at her statement grew maniacal grins on their faces as they surveyed Hermione who definitely looked scared at the change in their demeanour.

"Hermoninny, Hermoninny, never wrong Hermoninny" George spoke in slow tones, mocking Hermione slowly watching how she got more angry.

"This time you are though. You don't think twenty Aurors could have stopped Sirius Black from rescuing his Godson, do you?" Fred rhetorically asked as horror drew on Hermoine's face as she realised what he was implying.

"Oh no, he got away but Remus was caught and you two will pay for what you did, he was your best friend and you betrayed him. You two of all people should know that Harry would never kill." George told Hermione in a low dangerous tone.

Hermione raised her wand but the curse never escaped her lips.

"Expelliarmus!" Both twins shouted at the same time. Due to the close proximity to the pair, Hermione never stood a chance and the curse hit her sending her to the floor and her wand to the twins before she could react.

The pair then summoning another armchair from across the room proceeded to do exactly to Hermione what they had done to their brother just moments before. Making sure that each chair was side by side, the pair cancelled the silencing spell on Ron who took the opportunity to vent his feelings on the matter.

"YOU TWO WILL PAY FOR THIS! YOUR JUST AS BAD AS HIM NOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS TO YOUR OWN BROTHER. I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT YOU."

The twins, hearing this outburst were shaking with suppressed rage, as they coldly looked over their brother and Hermione who was now whimpering softly.

"You see Ron, you're wrong there, you did this to us. You weren't trying to protect us, you were trying to condemn Harry and that is one thing that we can't let happen." George said in a low tone that sounded very threatening.

"What are you going two going to do, your just students, pitiful seventh years, there is no way that you can save Harry and Sirius will be caught soon enough." Ron spoke with pure hatred lacing his smug tone.

"We don't care, we'd rather die than give up on Harry. He's a true brother to us, like we thought you once were. We hoped you would help but we now see the error of bringing you along and because of us Remus Lupin is probably being tortured as we speak." Fred said sadly, looking straight at a person that they used to call their brother.

"Let us go and we won't tell. We'll act like nothing ever happened." Hermione spoke up as she saw the futility of struggling against the bonds and knew that her and Ron were going nowhere. Fred and George looked at her as if she was the lowest of the low and the disgust in George's tone of voice summed everything up.

"Presumptuous aren't we Hermione. We said that we couldn't help Sirius or Harry but Remus is a different matter altogether. You see as me and Fred sat there in our "cell" we did some thinking and decided that we would do everything to free Remus, everything." George said, steely determination in his gaze.

"Why? You barely know him." Hermione asked struggling to find logic.

"Why? Why? You're pathetic, the pair of you. It was us that put Remus there, don't you see. If we had never been so blind to see that Ron was planning something, he wouldn't be in this mess, facing Azkaban. It's our duty and we owe Harry, more than you ever know." Fred said anger seeping into his voice, wand twitching.

"Owe Harry, what for? That murderer has never done anything for you and your risking your life for him. You two have finally lost it. I've said for years that you were mental." Ron laughed scornfully at his brothers who couldn't take any more.

"Traverso!"

"Nenficus!"

The Strike Spell and the Punching Spell struck Ron making him shout and shriek in pain but due to the dome, no one apart from the twins and Hermione heard him.

"Now Ron, I wouldn't say anymore. Anyway we best be off, we have a friend to save." George said before continuing. "But first we have to make sure you don't get the chance to spoil this plan." At the fearful looks on Fred and George's face, Ron and Hermione struggled even more in the bonds but it weren't to be.

"Stupefy!" Both twins said, watching as Ron and Hermione both slumped against their bonds that still held tight.

The twins then set into action quickly. George levitated the bodies of his brother and Hermione up the stairs until he came to the unused Head Boy and Girl Suites as the Head Boy and Girl were both from Ravenclaw. Entering the room he dropped the pair on the bed then quickly muttering incantations put locking spells on the windows and a silencing charm over the whole room. Taking a deep breath due to the amount of magic he had just cast in a short space of time, he exited the room and locked the door with a complicated locking charm and made his way back to the common room to await the return of his brother.

Fred came down a minute later, a grim smile on his face as he saw his brother waiting nervous to get going and at the prospect of breaking somebody out of Ministry Custody. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was gone 3:00am, he started speaking to his brother.

"Lee is fine with it, he said he'll make sure no one blabs about the incident down here and that he'll make sure no one notices or finds Ron and Hermione till we're back." Fred told his brother. "I also managed to get Harry's Invisibility Cloak without any trouble, I'm sure he won't mid us borrowing it." He finished looking at his brother who mirrored the same determined look he had on his face.

"Floo Powder?" George asked.

"Of course dear brother, after you." Fred handed his brother the Floo Powder.

George made his way to the fireplace and with a sparkling of Floo Powder, he stepped into the fireplace with a muttered location and was gone.

Fred picked up the bag and sprinkled some more Floo Powder into the fire. Fred put the bag of Floo Powder back in his cloak pocket and with a muttered "finite" to end the silencing dome; he took a deep breath and stepped into the fire.

"Ministry of Magic" Fred spoke clearing and his last thought before he was engulfed in green flames was _"Remus here we come."_

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Sirius Black was getting closer to Azkaban by the minute and still he had no plan. The plan that he had proposed with Remus needed two people and now Remus was gone he knew of no other to take his place. More than once he had stopped in his Animagus form and thought about going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Remus but he knew it was too risky and he also knew that Remus could handle himself and that Dumbledore would have him out in no time.

It was about 4:00am when Sirius finally reached the shores of Azkaban. Just seeing his home for twelve years made Sirius want to turn and run but he knew that while Harry was in there he would never do that. No, he would free his Godson even if it killed him.

When he thought about Harry and the way his friends and Order members had treated him when he got arrested filled him up with rage. The people turned on him straight away believing him to be guilty without question. Everyone apart from Remus, Dumbledore, who had done all he could yet even that was not enough and the Weasley twins who when this was over would be receiving a sizeable chunk from his Gringotts account. They had stayed loyal to Harry when the rest of his family turned their backs on him and they even sacrificed themselves to the Aurors so Sirius could get away and for that he was eternally grateful.

Sirius backed away from the shores and into the forest he had just came out of. Transforming himself back to his human appearance, he conjured a sleeping bag, Sirius lay down thinking how he was going to break in to the fortress that was Azkaban. Muttering incantation after incantation, Sirius set up as many wards as knew around himself and the surrounding area knowing he had got this far and wasn't about to be captured now.

Sirius lay deep in thought about how he was going to get Harry out. He knew that there were only five or six guards on Azkaban and they were only members of the Law Enforcement Agency not Aurors so they wouldn't be a problem if he didn't slip up. The Dementors would be a problem but Sirius was sure he would be able to avoid them as he had become pretty used to the schedule of patrol that they did as he had twelve years experience of it. He also was quite confident that the Ministry had placed Harry in the high security wing with the rest of the lifers. What Sirius worried about was how he was going to enter undetected, not raise an alarm while in there, then get out safely.

In the end, after hours thinking, Sirius decided tomorrow that he would stake out the shore to see if any boats were entering or leaving Azkaban. Then he would hijack it, get to the shores of Azkaban, get Harry, and then leave on the boat, get to the forest where Sirius would Portkey them both to Grimmauld Place, his old family home, now Headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix. Once there they would work on convincing Fudge of Harry's innocence. 

As he was settling down to some much needed sleep, Sirius thought, _"if only it could be that easy" _knowing full well that nothing ever went to plan_. _

God did he know how right he was in that assumption.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

In a dingy, dilapidated manor house in Little Hangleton, a group of people had congregated in the old Riddle Manor. These weren't normal people like you and me though. They were Death Eaters. Followers of the newly resurrected Lord Voldemort, greatest Dark Lord in a century and Heir of Slytherin. People who got their kicks from torturing and killing people, Muggles especially. All the Death Eaters had been summoned to a meeting by Lord Voldemort, who was at present sitting in a grand looking throne, surveying his Death Eaters who were all on knees in a show of respect to their Master.

"Tomorrow my faithful, we shall show the Wizarding World that we have returned. Tomorrow I will finally kill Harry Potter and with that the hope of the Wizarding World." Voldemort told his followers, his voice hissing while his blood red eyes remained intense.

"Master, isn't it too soon, you have not recovered yet?" One Death Eater asked and by the look on Lord Voldemort's face, he immeadiatly regretted his concern.

"Perhaps Nott, you have forgotten how to speak properly to your Master. I think a lesson is what you need. Crucio!" Voldemort lazily said as he watched Nott screaming on the floor. After a minute or so Voldemort relented.

"At nightfall tomorrow we shall go to Azkaban, release our comrades that have been held for so long and finally finish Potter off for good. Everyone understand." Voldemort said and was met this time with no resistance from the group.

"Dismissed," Voldemort said silkily as all his Death Eaters vanished into thin air.

Sitting on his throne Voldemort couldn't wait until Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived was finally dead and unable to be a thorn in his side. Then all that was left between him and domination was that Mudblood loving fool Dumbledore. The Ministry was rotten to the core and will easily fall to Lord Voldemort. No, once Dumbledore was gone then the world will hail Lord Voldemort as their ruler and all shall bow.

An evil grin appeared on his face as he thought of those that might oppose him and the pleasure he would get from torturing them. Lord Voldemort was back and the world was certainly going to know about it.

****

AN

Here's the next instalment, hope you enjoy it! This story is now going to be slightly longer, due to a new plot line I just had to incorporate.

I have gone back and edited the first chapter to make it easier to read but no need to re-read it. One part I did add though was when Harry saw the reactions of everyone; the twins gave a smile and shouted he was innocent.

Did any of you know that after every spell in the books, which isn't many, there's an exclamation mark, at least I think? I just thought it was interesting as few fanfic writers ever put them after their own spells.

The next chapter for YHSR will be out Monday for those interested.

kateydidnt: Yes he did summon the Aurors, I went back and made it a bit clearer to read. Thanks for the review.

Rachegrint: Yeah it's a bit rushed but I have gone back and beta'd it slightly so hopefully it should be more readable. About blurting it out, this is only a short story and will unfortunately not go the way you planned; it will be explosive I can guarantee. 

ShadowBlade: I hate Ron too and would love to kill him but I can't justify it in this story or my other, just humiliate and beat him.

Remo Con: I second motion 3 *evil laughter* but the above answer should explain.

Jeanne2: Thanks, that is the best compliment I've ever received. I seriously doubt my writing skills is that good but you're the boss and who am I to argue? YHSR is still my main priority by far, this will be a violent explosive short story and will be finished before YHSR comes to a conclusion so don't worry, and my time will only be split for a little while.

Mr. Happy Java Man: Yeah, those stories are my favourite at the moment. Have heard great things about Faith but truthfully I don't like reading slash. In fact the only slash story I am reading is Turn Back Time by Sstar Luna and that is a good read. Might just check Faith out actually. Cheers for the tip.

Didge: There my favourites too, they are great aren't they, especially Sirius who rocks.

Midknight(): Thanks for the compliments mate but I'm still nowhere near your league of writing, I'm still trying to develop my H/T story so its not as shallow and linear as my two existing stories but I'm struggling.

Thanks to you all, big chapter next, can't wait to write it.

Cheers

Halstead


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